Rambles about Portsmouth. Sketches of persons, localities, and incidents of two centuries: principally from tradition and unpublished documents. By Charles W. Brewster.

94 RAMBLES ABOUT PORTSMOUTHt
There was no lack of amusement, it would seem, at
Portsmouth, in the latter portion of the last century, of
which that venerable temple of Melpomene and Terpsichore, the old Assembly House, was the arena. At one
time the advertisements announce the Boston company as
performing tragedy and comedy; and at another, Mrs. and
Miss Arnold, and Miss Green, of the dramatic profession,
are aided by Portsmouth amateurs, in the production of
light comedy and farce, with an occasional attempt at
tragedy. Young Norval, in the tragedy of Douglas, " by
a young gentleman of Portsmouth." Old Pickle, in the
farce of the Spoiled Child, " by a gentleman of Portsmouth,"
etc. Here is a portion of the entertainment for March
21st, 1788, that from its exceeding novelty is worth bringing to light. It is well for Barnum that he did not flourish in those days; the Fejee Mermaid or Woolly Horse
would hardly have saved him from being shorn of his laurels. "A favorite tragic piece called' The Babes in the
Woods,' wherein will be displayed the father and mother
\ying on their beds, giving charge of their children to
their brother, who promises to take care of themi. After
the death of the parents, which takes place before the
audience, the uncle hires two ruffians to kill them; tley
fight, and one of them is killed; also the Death of the
Babes; a Robin will descend and cover them with leaves;
being one of the greatest curiosities ever exhibited. Likewise an Angel will descend, uncover the bodies, and fly
away with them! To conclude with the fatal end of the
cruel uncle, who is carried off by a large Serpent!!" The
working up of the final catastrophe, the retribution that
overtook the " cruel uncle" through the agency of that
"large Serpent," was a stroke of genius, never excelled in
the modern school of sensation dramas.
The most youthful and the last of these relics of ancient
journalism, is "The Literary Mirror," of various dates in